OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark

[Bellaboo]

Great video Tony. Appreciate the good work !

[PhiAlpha]

Just talked to a guy at deep deuce grill who drove up here from Dallas with his family for the opening weekend. Said it was awesome. Tons of people but never felt crowded. Kids loved it and the hotel is very nice.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Also gives credence to the spillover effect the rest of the economy will experience with this new addition. Thanks to OKANA new visitors will be circulating to other businesses throughout the metro, spending money, supporting jobs, contributing to our tax base, bolstering our quality of life by frequenting other local businesses, but with most OKC residents remaining blissfully unaware.

[Bellaboo]

FAM should benefit from OKANA. I have a habit of looking at the car tags when visiting museums. The last time I was at FAM, I'd guess a fifth were from out of state. I imagine OKANA will have a large direct impact for the museum.

[John1744]

I get but also don't get the criticisms on the price. This should be a near world class waterpark for families. It's a destination, I have two young kids and we regularly go to Great Wolf in Grapevine and drop $500 for a couple days there, the kids love it so much. Hell last year we drove the almost six hours to go to Kalahari just to change it up some as we don't feel the price to value of Great Wolf is quite there anymore. And seeing the videos of Okana it looks as good as Kalahari and might even top it once all the outdoor stuff is done.

[Jake]

Early videos and pictures look great. Looks like this will be a massive success like most people assumed.

I’m a broken record but I once again want to give the Chickasaws their flowers. They had a massive, ambitious project and delivered ahead of schedule. The final product actually looks like the original renderings. To my knowledge, there wasn’t some cartoonish 100% cost overrun either. They said they would do it and they did it. That’s so rare for OKC and the state as a whole. They should be lauded and will hopefully be given the reins on other projects.

Other than Oak, what other huge large-scale projects have actually been built even close to what was promised within the last few years? The city needs more of this.

I look forward to seeing how this project grows and evolves over time. I’m going with my family here in the summer and I’m excited. Looks like a lot of fun.

[Laramie]

Astounding, Awesome, Breathtaking, Impressive, Magnificent . . .

The $400 million OKANA Resort opens to full occupancy with all 404 rooms booked according to an article in today's Oklahoman.

If this continues beyond our cold weather season, this whole area will be a magnet for fun family orientated resort; let's not forget the Chickasaw tribe's specialty
is hospitality and entertainment.

Awesome video. With plenty of acreage, there will be more venues lining up. Like the song says, 'We don't have to take our clothes off to have a good time,' 'We don't have to
gamble to have a good time.'

[jn1780]

Water coaster POV.
https://youtu.be/EAihm4Mj_xg?feature=shared

[gaeddert2]

OKANA Ribbon Cutting

[Mesta Parker]

My daughter reserved two adjoining rooms yesterday to celebrate my granddaughter’s birthday. Arriving at 4:00, she waited in line over 2.5 hours to start initial check in. Once at the check in desk, it took 30 minutes to have rooms assigned, which were not adjoining, then another 30 minutes to correct that problem. So 3.5 hours just to check in. The two rooms she received were not clean. The resort seemed understaffed, i.e., not all check in kiosks were open. OKANA did pass out waterpark wrist bands to people waiting to check in so that party members could use the waterpark while one poor soul waited in line. Compensation for the debacle depended how much you complained. My daughter’s compensation was a $50 arcade credit per person. Others were receiving credits, late checkout and free food. No consistency. Sure it was opening weekend and some hiccups should be expected, but not the debacle experienced by OKANA’s customers yesterday. Not a very auspicious start.

[April in the Plaza]

Would be cool if they could exempt OKC residents from The Occupancy Tax. That **** is actually pretty material over a few nights on a $400 room. There’s sort of precedent for it with the existing exemption regime: https://app.okc.gov/applications/hot...xOrdinance.pdf

[scottk]

My daughter reserved two adjoining rooms yesterday to celebrate my granddaughter’s birthday. Arriving at 4:00, she waited in line over 2.5 hours to start initial check in. Once at the check in desk, it took 30 minutes to have rooms assigned, which were not adjoining, then another 30 minutes to correct that problem. So 3.5 hours just to check in. The two rooms she received were not clean. The resort seemed understaffed, i.e., not all check in kiosks were open. OKANA did pass out waterpark wrist bands to people waiting to check in so that party members could use the waterpark while one poor soul waited in line. Compensation for the debacle depended how much you complained. My daughter’s compensation was a $50 arcade credit per person. Others were receiving credits, late checkout and free food. No consistency. Sure it was opening weekend and some hiccups should be expected, but not the debacle experienced by OKANA’s customers yesterday. Not a very auspicious start.

In regards to the check-in, I am surprised that a brand new resort requires you to stand in line for manual check-in. Mobile-check-in or app based check-in with a kiosk that dispenses your wristbands or key card upon check-in seems like it would be more efficient. MGM Resorts in Las Vegas has this method and it is much more efficient and convenient to the hotel guest.

From a chain perspective, Hilton, and I believe Marriot also offer app-based check-in where you can bypass the front desk unless there is a problem or special request.

Yes, I know it is opening weekend and they will through the processes, but geez, 2.5 hours!

[Pete]

I will also say they completely screwed me over regarding a tour of the property.

I asked quite a while ago, they said they would get back to me, never did, when I contacted them again they stalled then said they didn't have time although all the media outlets and a bunch of nobody 'influencers' were accommodated. Didn't get invited to the ribbon cutting... After they completely blew me off, they tried to placate by inviting me to their formal grand opening on March 6th, but now that they're open I can just go any time and take photos and I don't take freebies or go on PR cattle calls.

Keep in mind OKCTalk has given them more free publicity and has more social media engagement than anyone, and I've tagged them and helped them grow their social following more than any account.


So, if they want publicity from me in the future they are going to have to pay for it and even then I may decline. It's not how you want to treat people and no business has ever been as dismissive.

[scottk]

That's unfortunate, but yeah, there is way more value in OKCTalk covering a grand opening or behind the scenes soft opening than some of the "established" local companies, the main reason being is that OKCTalk has such a large social and digital media presence that is active and quality posted with tons of commentary and images.

As of right now, OKCTalk's Facebook post on OKANA has 1700 shares, another local news site (you can guess which one) has two post on Okana's opening weekend with a total of 4 comments and 1 reaction.

[Richard at Remax]

If you are going to boast about opening early you better make sure you have you crap together

[Pete]

Keep in mind they are getting hundreds of millions in public money for all this, and that's just the start.

Hopefully they get their act together.

[Jake]

I will also say they completely screwed me over regarding a tour of the property.

I asked quite a while ago, they said they would get back to me, never did, when I contacted them again they stalled then said they didn't have time although all the media outlets and a bunch of nobody 'influencers' were accommodated. Didn't get invited to the ribbon cutting... After they completely blew me off, they tried to placate by inviting me to their formal grand opening on March 6th, but now that they're open I can just go any time and take photos and I don't take freebies or go on PR cattle calls.

Keep in mind OKCTalk has given them more free publicity and has more social media engagement than anyone, and I've tagged them and helped them grow their social following more than any account.


So, if they want publicity from me in the future they are going to have to pay for it and even then I may decline. It's not how you want to treat people and no business has ever been as dismissive.

I was wondering why there wasn’t a post on here about the opening. That’s extremely disappointing.

I saw weeks ago they had some contest/promotion thing tailored towards influencers. What influencers? Facebook food groups?

Stiffing OKCTalk shows that they don’t understand the market and are out of touch. Other than just being rude and a terrible way to conduct business. That’s disheartening. I wonder how things will look in the summer.

And yes, if you open early you still need to actually open properly. Having people wait several hours to check in is ridiculous. Makes me question management.

A shame. The construction process seemed to go so smoothly. Why half-ass the actual management/marketing of the place once it’s open? Did they think it’d be some sleepy little resort like their one in Sulphur?

[Jake]

Nm

[Laramie]

Wow, to think how successful the opening has been is really impressive--probably far exceeded their expectations. Yet they are booked for the next 2-3 months.

Wondering if the WCWS teams have made advanced bookings; not knowing if they are going to make the cut. 2025 WCWS - May 29 - June 6, 2025. Also, let's not
forget LA28 where OKC has a good chance of hosting the Olympic softball and Canoe Slalom events.

It's so unfortune OKCTalk.com has really covered the OKANA resort before, naming, ground breaking and opening and now they don't have time to express some kind of appreciation.

[Bunty]

My favorite review:

“Well this place is very nice. But..This is not New York, Illinois, Florida…etc… this is Oklahoma. For $345 a night I can fly round trip to Vegas and have the most amazing time ever. Now listen okc residents do not make enough money to enjoy this resort. If you don’t lower your prices you will be closed quicker than you opened. Just saying food for thought”

It simply reflects Oklahomans, and their politicians feel that fighting the cultural war issues is a much more important priority than better support for education, which would lead to higher paying jobs, along with better affordability for entertainment expenses. I was shocked to hear Vince Orza say on Flashpoint that Oklahoma was ranked no. 49 for education clear back in 1969. He wonders if it will ever change. I don't think it will.

Anyway, that review failed to account for what will benefit OKANA is that it is next to a major Interstate, so a good number of drivers will want to take a break to enjoy it.

[Plutonic Panda]

A high rise hotel would be cool here. JW Marriot.

[Laramie]

A high rise hotel would be cool here. JW Marriot.

Right on, Plutonic Panda,

J.W. Marriott, Indianapolis 34 floors - 1,013 guest rooms, 376 feet tall.

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^^^ yep

[Bowser214]

The Gaylords just opened a huge OKANA style resort in San Diego

[Decious]

Just getting back from Okana. Took the family for a quick staycation.

It’s outstanding.